Singapore Sevens set for April: SportSG CEO Lim Teck Yin

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought Singapore's sporting calendar to a standstill, with marquee events such as Formula One's Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix, HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens and football's International Champions Cup axed.

Although there is uncertainty over whether these events will return any time soon, Sport Singapore (SportSG) chief executive officer Lim Teck Yin believes that the Singapore Sevens "looks set to be staged" in April, ahead of the postponed Tokyo Olympics in July.

Hosting the event at the National Stadium could also demonstrate that Singapore is open for business, said Lim at the All That Matters business festival yesterday.

Speaking during an online session, he said: "We are working hard on the assumption that it (Singapore Sevens) will happen and that we will be able to create an engagement proposition with fans around the world that allows us to showcase that Singapore is open for business, showcase that a sporting event of that stature can still be run by bringing people together in a safe environment and to be able to engage at scale across the world, both digitally online as well as on traditional broadcast."

But the SportSG chief also emphasised the need to evaluate the situation and whether it would make sense to open up travel for international teams and athletes.

The cancellation of international and local sports events has also highlighted the importance of raising the standards of domestic sports leagues so that Singapore is not entirely reliant on international events to keep local fans entertained, said Lim.

While he did not provide more details, the 57-year-old said: "It would probably mean another form of a semi-professional, domestic league, bringing in star attractions to feature for the teams, and make it a good proposition for us to develop our own athletes as well as to provide that entertainment."

Ahead of next year's SEA Games in Vietnam, scheduled for Nov 21 to Dec 2, he also said that it was crucial for countries in the region to work together to bring back sport in their respective nations and also competitions between countries.

As sports and physical activities resume in Phase 2 of Singapore's reopening, Lim said the first steps would be focused on allowing more people to play sports.

With the current limit of five people with no inter-mixing between groups among the safety measures, team sports such as football may take a little longer to return.

Singapore Premier League clubs were given the nod to resume full contact training from Sept 1 and the league is looking at a possible restart before the end of the month.

The restart could pave the way for the resumption of other domestic leagues and eventually team sports for all, said Lim.

But he stressed that this would depend on the Government's direction.

He added: "In all cases, safe management measures continue to rule, so we have to be mindful and follow the national profile. That profile, as you know in other industries, is starting to open up.

"If everyone can play their part, by end of next year, I hope that we can see sport (as we know it) back and we are determined to make sure that happens."